Interview Advice
Discussion
Hi All,
Further to my coffee chat thread, I have since been told that I've been selected to go for a chat with the hiring manager. This is at the company's premises, over coffee in the canteen. I have been told to dress smart. Although the recruiter is calling this a chat it's an interview and I will treat is as such.
I have been with my current company a very long time and therefore I'm out of practice. How much time would you recommend spending on preparation? I have my interview early next week.
This company is massive. Based on how corporate they are, can I expect the difficult interview questions like:-
Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
What are you weaknesses?
Do interviewers still ask questions like these?
I plan to know my CV inside and out. I've done plenty of research on the company and the competition. I think I need to now prepare on why I'm suited for the job and how to handle the dreaded questions, so any advice on how to go about doing this would be helpful.
Further to my coffee chat thread, I have since been told that I've been selected to go for a chat with the hiring manager. This is at the company's premises, over coffee in the canteen. I have been told to dress smart. Although the recruiter is calling this a chat it's an interview and I will treat is as such.
I have been with my current company a very long time and therefore I'm out of practice. How much time would you recommend spending on preparation? I have my interview early next week.
This company is massive. Based on how corporate they are, can I expect the difficult interview questions like:-
Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
What are you weaknesses?
Do interviewers still ask questions like these?
I plan to know my CV inside and out. I've done plenty of research on the company and the competition. I think I need to now prepare on why I'm suited for the job and how to handle the dreaded questions, so any advice on how to go about doing this would be helpful.
If it a large corporate company, the interview style may well be 'competency based' and a particular style of questions may be employed - well worth preparing for and reading up on...
Try here
http://www.interview-skills.co.uk/competency-based...
and here
http://www.interview-skills.co.uk/competency-based...
This 'star' approach is very common and it is best to understand the structure and 'play along'!
A number of years contracting has taught that this is the best approach...
Best of luck
Try here
http://www.interview-skills.co.uk/competency-based...
and here
http://www.interview-skills.co.uk/competency-based...
This 'star' approach is very common and it is best to understand the structure and 'play along'!
A number of years contracting has taught that this is the best approach...
Best of luck
As above, lots of competency based.
Tell about a time you worked well in a team.
Tell me about a time you failed.
Tell me about a time you overcame adversity.
And all that horses
t.
Then the usual 5 year's time question, maybe some role related scenarios.
I use CAR (context, action, result) rather than STAR, but they amount to the same thing.
Most important thing is this is about you - so if you worked on an amazing team that increased revenue 100% in the quarter that's great - but what did YOU do to make it happen.
Also make sure you have lots of different examples for different competencies, because if one project you did is your greatest achievement, the time you overcame adversity, the time you worked well in a team, and the time you exceeded expectations then it's going to be a really boring interview.
Good luck.
EDIT: In terms of prep, if you really want the job, spend all your spare time doing it running up the interview - because you can guarantee one of the other guy's they're interviewing is. A good way of doing this is recording your answers to the questions you think they'll ask on a laptop webcam - it's really cringeworthy watching it back, but what it actually does is show you whether or not you sound rehearsed which you might not ordinarily notice if just practicing aloud. It also helps with verbal tics - for example, I say "you know" a lot and don't even noticed. Also - for the "what's your biggest weakness" please don't say perfectionist.
Tell about a time you worked well in a team.
Tell me about a time you failed.
Tell me about a time you overcame adversity.
And all that horses
t.Then the usual 5 year's time question, maybe some role related scenarios.
I use CAR (context, action, result) rather than STAR, but they amount to the same thing.
Most important thing is this is about you - so if you worked on an amazing team that increased revenue 100% in the quarter that's great - but what did YOU do to make it happen.
Also make sure you have lots of different examples for different competencies, because if one project you did is your greatest achievement, the time you overcame adversity, the time you worked well in a team, and the time you exceeded expectations then it's going to be a really boring interview.
Good luck.
EDIT: In terms of prep, if you really want the job, spend all your spare time doing it running up the interview - because you can guarantee one of the other guy's they're interviewing is. A good way of doing this is recording your answers to the questions you think they'll ask on a laptop webcam - it's really cringeworthy watching it back, but what it actually does is show you whether or not you sound rehearsed which you might not ordinarily notice if just practicing aloud. It also helps with verbal tics - for example, I say "you know" a lot and don't even noticed. Also - for the "what's your biggest weakness" please don't say perfectionist.
Edited by 22s on Thursday 24th July 10:28
My organisation uses STAR (Situation, Tasks, Actions Results)
When I interview I look for what differentiates an interviewee from the other, and that is sing L&D after STAR... so you use STAR to describe the example and then use L&D which is What did I Learn from this and What would i do Differently next time.
Hope that helps
When I interview I look for what differentiates an interviewee from the other, and that is sing L&D after STAR... so you use STAR to describe the example and then use L&D which is What did I Learn from this and What would i do Differently next time.
Hope that helps
Thanks to everyone who has responded. I don't think I will be able to remember half of the questions, let alone the answers. Can anyone who interviews regularly possibly break it down to 10 common competency based questions for me? From what I've heard the competency test is in interview 2. So are these questions likely to come up in my 'chat'? Well I guess nobody knows.
Having been through this in the last few months my learnings were: go above and beyond what the interview brief is - think about putting a 30/60/90 plan together that shows how you would use that time to make an impact and get up to speed quickly.
Where you've been asked to present, rehearse extensively, revise, get feedback, then improve - there's no substitute for demonstrating how much you want the job by preparing.
Finally, and something I realised the importance of, find out as much as you can about the company culture and ask about it during the interview - you may be the best qualified candidate but if your face doesn't fit the team you won't get the job.
Where you've been asked to present, rehearse extensively, revise, get feedback, then improve - there's no substitute for demonstrating how much you want the job by preparing.
Finally, and something I realised the importance of, find out as much as you can about the company culture and ask about it during the interview - you may be the best qualified candidate but if your face doesn't fit the team you won't get the job.
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